Clip for pin curls, or the like



Aug. 11, 1959 CLIP FOR PIN CURLS, OR THELIKE R. LYMAN Filed May 9, 1957 IN V EN TOR.

Raw/0E1. Lymw United States Patent Ofiice 2,898,922 Patented Aug. 11, 1959 Raphael Lyman, Norwalk, Conn, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Robert Ullman, Norwalk, Conn.

' Application May 9, 1957, Serial N 0. 658,059

' 3 Claims. Cl. 132-48) The present invention relates to a clip or clamp of the type generally used by women for setting their hair in pin curls.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a pin curl clip or clampof the character described which is generally safer, more comfortable and more convenient to use.

Thus, it is one object of the present invention to provide a pin curl clip or clamp of the character described which will not snag the users hair while it being in stalled over a hair spiral, nor. when it is removed therefrom, to thereby eliminate a frequent cause of discomfort and annoyance, if not pain, experienced with the use of similar clips or clamps of the prior art. I

It is another object of the present invention to provide a pin curl clip or clamp of the character described which presents a smooth continuoussurface to the users fingers at the end where it is pressed to separate its clamping members for placing over or removing from a pin curl, to thereby eliminate the additional discomfort, if not pain, frequently experienced with the use of conventional pin curl clips or clamps by reason of the sharp edges the present to the users fingers.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a pin curl clip or clamp of the character described which presents advantages to the manufacturer by way of simplification of its component parts, their number and their assembly with one another, making economical mass production and automatic assembly of such clips feasible and practical.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a pin curl clip or clamp of the character described which is of a continuous substantially unbroken outline that is pleasing to the eye and smooth and comfortable to handle.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a pin curl or clamp of the character described in which the clamping jaws are firmly, resiliently pressed together.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the devices of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawing and from the description following. It is to be understood, however, that such embodiment is shown by way of illustration only, to make the principles and practice of the invention more readily comprehensible, and without any intent of limiting the invention to the specific details therein shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the bottom member of one embodiment of a pin curl clip of the present inventron;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the upper member of the pin curl clip of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through a pin curl clip assembled from the members illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2; and

.Fig. 4'is a section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring now in greater detail to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the same comprises a lower member, generally designated as 10, preferably formed of thin, sheet spring steel, conventionally used for the purpose. The member 10 comprises a flat forward section 12, which may preferably be forked, to provide spaced lines 14, and, at the rear of said forward section 10, is provided with a pair of upstanding ears 16, each formed with an aperture 18. The member 10 is further provided with a rear extension 20, which may, if desired, taper in width from each end toward the center thereof, and which is reentrantly, upwardly bent to provide a U-shaped spring portion having the overhanging upper leg section 22, which is formed with a dependent flange 24, at its extremity at preferably the center of which is formed a transversely extending slot 26. The slot 26 ispreferably arranged to be disposed above the ears 16.

The clip of the present invention also comprises. an upper member, generally designated as 28, which may be made of the same material as the lower member 10. The upper member 28, preferably consists of a flat, forward section 30, preferably of 'a width equal to the width of the forward portion 12, of the member 10, and of a length preferably slightly shorter than the section 12. The section 30 of upper member 28 is formed at its rear with an upwardly diagonally extending integral portion 32, and with a portion 34, approximately parallel to the section 30 and slightly narrower than said portion 36 extending rearwardly from the portion 32. The portion 34 is preferably of a width to fit snugly between the ears 16 at the rear of the portion 12 of the member 10, and .is formed, at each edge, with depending ears 36, each formed with an outwardly pressed circular embossment 38 that is adapted to fit in an aperture 18 of an car 16 of the bottom member 10.

The portion 34 of the member 24 is formed with a rearwardly narrow tongue 40, extending rearwardly and preferably diagonally upwardly from the center of its rear edge, said tongue 40 being of a width and thickness slightly less than the width and thickness of the slot 26 of the flange 24 of the member 10.

The portion 30 may be formed with a central, longitudinally extending cut out 42, to correspond with the space provided in the forked forward section of the portion 12 of the member 10 and also with an end cut out 44, in substantial alignment with the cut out 42. Both the lines 14 of the lower member 10 and the corresponding parts of the upper member 28 may be provided with longitudinal rows of openings 46, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In order to assemble the two members 10 and 28, to form a complete pin curl clip, the tongue 40 of upper member 28 is inserted into the slot 26 of the lower member 10 with which it forms a sliding engagement, and the ears 36 of the upper member 28 are pressed into place between the ears 16 of the lower member 10, until the embossments 38 of the ears 36 snap into the openings 18 of the ears 16, to provide a pivot between the two members 10 and 28.

Both the construction and operation of the pin curl clip of the present invention thus described now become apparent. To separate the clamping portions 12 and 30 of the members 10 and 28, the upper leg section 22 of the U spring formed by the rear extension 20 of the member 10 is pressed down, thereby pressing down the rear tongue 40 of the upper member 28, causing the upper member to pivot on the embossments 38, to raise its forward section 30 from the forward section 12 of the lower member 28. Release of the spring leg 22 will 3 cause the two sections 30 and 12 to come together again, in a clamping movement.

This completes the description of the pin curl clip or clamp of the present invention and the manner of its assembly and use. It will be apparent that/such pin curl clip is of highly simplified construction, consisting of but two parts that may be readily andeconomically mass produced and readily and economically, automatically assembled. It will also be apparent that the assembled pin curl clip of the present invention presents a substantially continuous surface at its rear or gripping end, without any projecting ends or edges that would tend to become engaged in the hair of the user to snag the same, or to cause discomfort to the users fingers.

It will further be apparent that numerous variations and modifications in the pin curl clip of the present invention may be made by anyone skilled in the art, in accordance with the principles of the invention hereinabove set forth, and without the exerciseof any inventive ingenuity. I desire, therefore, to be protected for any and all such variations and modifications that may be made within the spirit of the present invention in the scope of the claims hereto appended.

What I claim is:

1. A clip for pin curls or the like, of the character described, comprising an upper member and a lower member, said lower member comprising a strip of resilient material having a clamp section at one end thereof and a handle section at the other end thereof, said handle section comprising an upwardly and reentrantly bent portion of said strip material terminating short of said clamp section and formed with a depending terminal portion, said terminal portion having a slot formed therein; said upper member comprising a strip of sheet material having a clamp section at one end and a handle section at the other end thereof, said handle section of said upper member slidably engaged within said slot; and means pivotally interengaging said upper and lower members intermediate their respective clamp sections and handle sections.

2. A clip for pin curls or the like, of the character described, comprising an upper member and a lower member, said lower member comprising a strip of thin, resilient metal including a relatively flat clamp section at one end, a handle section at its other end and an intermediate section between said clamp section and handle section, said handle section comprising an upwardly and reentrantly bent portion of said strip terminating short of said intermediate section and in elevated relation thereto, said intermediate section having ears extending upwardly from each longitudinal edge thereof, said upper member comprising a strip of thin, rigid material including a relatively flat clamp section, an intermediate section substantially parallel to said clamp section and upwardly ofiset relative thereto, and a handle section to the other side of said intermediate section, said intermediate section of said upper member having ears depending from its longitudinal edges interfitting between said lower section ears, and means pivotally interengaging said upper section and said lower section ears, said reentrantly bent portion of said handle section arranged to terminate in elevated relation to said intermediate portion of said upper member when said members are pivotally interengaged by said ears, said reentrantly bent portion having a depending flange at its end, said flange having a slot formed therein, said handle section of said upper member extending diagonally upwardly from its associated intermediate section and into said slot for slidable engagement therewithin.

3. The pin curl clip of claim 2, wherein said means pivotally interengaging said ears comprises an opening formed in each of one of said pairs of ears and an embossed projection formed on each of the other of said pairs of cars, said projections snap-fitted into said openings for rotary movement therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,452,814 Wagle Nov, 2, 1948 

